Feeding device for blast and other furnaces



(No Model.)

W: H. ALLEN.

FEEDING DEVIGE FOR BLAST AND OTHER FURNACES; No. 267,819. Pate'ntedNov.21, 1882.

N PETER MOI-Rhognphur. Walhinpon. D.C.

. UNrT D STATES PATENT rrren.

WILLIAM H. ALLEN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR B LAST AND OTHER FURNACES.

SPECIFIGATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 267,819, dated November21, 1882.

7 Application filed October 31, 1881. (N modehi To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. ALLEN, of

' Pittsburg,countyofAllegheny, State of Penn sylvania, have invented ordiscovered a new and useful Improvement in Feeding Devices My presentinvention relates more particu larly to an improvement in thefeedingappa- 'ratus of a blast, cupola, or other like furnace,

' wherein a cup and cone'or a bell and hopper tically so.

are employed.

My particular object is to enable the ordinary feeding or chargingoperations to be performed from the ground; and to this end I arrangeimmediately over the bell or cone an open-bottomed hopper, and soarrange it with reference to the bell or cone that charges of materialfor the blast-furnace, on being dumped or discharged into such addedhopper, will be delivered through its open bottom onto the hell or coneat or near its apex, and consequently will pass down the sides of thebell or cone uniformly allvaround, and so will be distributed withpractical uniformity around the annular receptacle formed at thejunction of the helland lower hopper. Then,when the bell is lowered todischarge such material into the furnace, such charge will be suppliedto the burden below uniformly all around, or pracw Then, by the additionof a chute from the elevator to such added hopper, and of a self tiltingor dumping device, so that the car containing the material shall beautomatically emptied into such chute, I enable the entire work offeeding to be done without the necessary presence of workmen at the topor mouth of the furnace to do or superintend the feeding.

B may represent a blast, cupola, or other like furnace, such as isadapted to or requires the use for feeding purposes of the ordinary orother suitable hopper or cup, a, and bell or cone b. Immediately overthe hell or cone 1),

that a charge or a portion of a charge dumped into such added hopper 0will slide down or fall onto the apex of the bell, or so near its apexas to be delivered or discharged there from through the opening 0 allaround, and

slide down on all sides of the hell with practi cal uniformity astoqnantity, so that when the I bell is lowered the charge will beproperly distributed to the burden below.

Such device may be used, and the material be dumped in from barrows byhand in the usual way; but I prefer to so organize the apparatus thatthe work of feeding may be done from the ground, and without thenecessary presence of workmen for such purpose at the top or mouth ofthe furnace. To illustrate this I have shown an elevator, D, of anysuitable construction, adapted to be operated from the ground, and toraise and lower a car, D, loaded with the material to be charged or fedinto the furnace. Any suitable trip or tilting mechanism is to be added,such that when itreaches the proper. height it will be tilted, as shown,or its contents will be otherwise dumped into a chute, d, which issuitably constructed and arranged for discharging into the hopper c thematerials so dumped upon it. As soon as the car is thus emptied it maybe lowered in the usual way and at the'proper intervals. The bell b mayalso be lowered from below by the use of a Windlass, g, and rope g, andthe usual interposed devices, g 7 y I have shown the Windlass, rope, 8m,on the side of the furnace opposite the elevator, but have done so onlyfor convenience of illustration. For ease and facility of operation, thebell loweringand raising appliances should be arranged over and downsuch side of the furnace that they and the elevator can be worked fromat or near the same point.

I am aware that it is not new, as in United States Patent No. 117,246,to duplicate in a blast-furnace the ordinary bell and hopper, and togive to each bell a separate motion, so that on the lowering of theupper bell a charge maybe dumped in the usual way onto the lower hopperand bell, (the latter remaining closed,) and so that after this is donethe upper hopper may be closed and the lower hopper be opened bylowering the lower bell, so as to discharge the new charge onto theburden below; but this fails to embody my invention, in that, amongother things, I make the upper hopper with a comparatively smallopening, and arrange the bell in reference thereto so that when in itsnormal or raised position its apex shall be at or about the level of thehopper-opening, and thereby I insure the performance of the functionindicatednamely, a uniform distribution of the charge, which,necessarily falling on the apex of the bell, will pass down withpractical uniformity on all sides thereof.

I am aware that it is not new with me, broadly, to combine aself-dumping car with a blast-furnace, and hence I make no claim theretootherwise than as an element in the combination, as hereinafter setforth.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. In a blast-furnace feeding device,the

combination of the lower feed-hopper,a, and go the upper feed-hopper, c,with the hell I) and mechanism for supporting and operating the same,the two hoppers constructed as described, whereby the bell, when raised,closes the bottom of the lower hopper, and has its 5 apex at or aboutthe level of the bottom opening of the upper hopper, substantially asset forth.

2. A blast-furnace feeding apparatushaving in combination a lowerfeedliopper, a, an up- 40 per feed-hopper, c, a bell, I), mechanism forsupporting and operating the bell, the two hoppers being con strueted asdescribed, whereby the bell, when raised, closes the bottom of the lowerhopper, and has its apex at or about 45 the level of the bottom openingof the upper hopper, and having also an elevator worked from the ground,a self-dumping car, and a chute, d, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my 50 hand.

WILLIAM H. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD JAY ALLEN, R. H. WnITTLEsEY.

